"Mum…ma…?"
Tears gushed out of his eyes like a waterfall, his appearance looking like he just woke up from a long, long nightmare.
"Hush!" Anne dashed over to Leo and hugged him firmly. She rubbed his silky green hair and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Don't cry, mumma's here for you."
This further broke something within Leo as he began sobbing, tears not stopping to come out for even a second.
Anne pursed her lips and wondered what caused such a strong reaction from her son. A few instances ago, they were talking about the Awakening Ceremony commencing, and all of a sudden, he went in a daze, then had tears leak down his emotionless face.
It greatly worried her, and before she could check, he called out to her in a really strange and… longing manner. It was as if he hadn't seen her in a really long time.
For now, Anne put this topic to the back of her mind and focused on comforting her son.
Seconds turned into minutes, and after a whole hour, Leo's emotions settled in and stabilized.
Throughout this time, Anne felt as if someone was firmly gripping her heart. She had never seen her child be so emotional. Even as a baby, he hadn't cried for as long.
"Sniff… I..I'm sorry… for my outburst…"
Having calmed down, Leo became self-aware of his unsightly behavior and apologized.
"You don't have to be sorry for it, my dear," Anne said and kissed Leo's head. She rubbed his back, providing a certain warmth Leo had long forgotten, and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
Leo rubbed his runny nose with the back of his sleeve and said, "Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you, mother."
Anne broke the hug and took a step back, not going too far away from her son. She gazed at him with her bright green eyes, and saw his puffy red eyes and tear-stained face.
Wanting to cheer him up, she half sat on the table behind her, hands resting on the edge for support, and teased with a soft smile, "Look at Mr. Sophisticated… calling his mumma as mother, getting all formal and nobler."
A blush spread through Leo's already reddened face. He coughed lightly, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"I'm sorry about that."
"You better be."
The corner of Anne's lips curved up as she said that in a sarcastic tone, seemingly having fun teasing him.
"I don't want to hear anything other than mumma from you."
Leo smiled softly and nodded his head. His mother's obsession with the word 'mumma' wasn't out of place. She felt that it was more affectionate and brought her much closer to her children.
There was also the fact that this endearing term was getting really popular in the world. It was still not used by everyone, but a lot of children had already adopted it.
The emergence of such a term unexpectedly had a deep reason behind it. Being a regressor, Leo naturally knew it. But the people of this world did not know yet.
To check how much his own mother knew, Leo asked with a neutral tone, "Can I ask a question?"
He was still feeling uneasy and hadn't adapted fully to his new reality. His formal tone was the lingering effect of his past self's occupation as an aide.
Anne blinked and stared at Leo, finding her child's behavior somewhat odd. But, she didn't comment on it and said, "Go ahead."
Leo opened his mouth and was about to speak, but then closed it and frowned.
No, I shouldn't ask such a question. I'll appear really suspicious.
As a time traveler, Leo knew that confronting his mother was risky. Mothers were astute and could quickly catch any oddities that may arise.
His thoughts were right on the money as Anne indeed noticed the subtle change. She frowned and wanted to ask about it, but couldn't find the right words and suppressed the topic for now.
Clearing his throat, Leo said, "My apologies, I zoned out a bit."
Anne raised an eyebrow in amusement. She drummed her fingers on the table and thought, that's too formal.
From her expression, Leo had a rough guess as to what she may be thinking. He shook his head and said, "There's no point brooding over my behavior, mom. You won't find an answer unless I tell you myself."
Anne raised both her eyebrows in surprise, not expecting such a statement from Leo.
Before she could speak, Leo shook his head again and said, "Please don't try to pry into this matter. I will let you know everything once the time is right. Until then, can you please drop the topic?"
Anne frowned. "You do understand that everything you're saying is really strange and odd, right? You're speaking in a manner my son would never have. Even the way you're sitting and presenting yourself is different."
Leo nodded. "I know. And the only reason you've not killed me yet, thinking as a spy or imposter, is because you can feel my bloodline, yes?"
"Yes…" Anne said and frowned again. How did Leo state exactly what she was thinking? Were her thoughts that obvious to read?
Noticing his mother's expression, Leo smiled. "No, I can't read your mind, mom. Relax."
Anne knitted her brows and frowned harder. She took a step ahead and held Leo's collar. "You… who are you?"
The Leo she knew was timid and lacked a lot of confidence. The way the current him spoke was too out of character. Anne couldn't ignore this and needed answers.
Leo sighed and shook his head. If someone had to be blamed for his current predicament, it should be he himself.
As a child and young adult, he was bullied often. He severely lacked confidence and was too timid, so much so that he couldn't even talk to the maids in the family.
The current him was different. Despite having his ego, mind, and body sealed to the age of eighteen, the passage of time was bound to affect his wisdom.
It was for this reason that he stayed calm despite his mother questioning him in a threatening manner.
He gently held her face and said in a soothing tone, "I am your Leo, mom. The same Leo that used to hold your skirt and roam with you all day long. The same Leo that once mistook Lisa for you. The same Leo who stupidly stated his favorite animal was a butterfly. And the same Leo whose name is incomplete without you."
Anne's gaze softened as she stared at him. However, she still didn't let go of his collar as she still didn't fully believe him.
Leo smiled and continued, "You might not know this but I always write my name as Leonard Anne Tryst everywhere. As I said, it's incomplete without your name in it."
Throughout his life, he had never gone without using his mother's name as his middle name. She gave her everything to him and this was the least he could do for her.
Anne was taken aback by Leo's statement. She didn't know of this.
Leo smirked proudly. "I did my best to hide it from you. If you don't believe me, you can go check the registry of the Awakening Ceremony, you'll find it."
Like now, even in his past life, he loved his mother to no end. However, he was too shy and embarrassed to tell her that, and he thus did his best to hide the fact that he was putting his name as 'Leonard Anne Tryst' everywhere.
For the third time, Anne was surprised. She let go of Leo and putting her hand on her waist, said with knitted brows, "Young man, were you acting like a wolf in sheep's skin and fooling everybody this whole time? Including your own mumma?"
Leo smiled awkwardly and didn't answer that. It was better to leave some things for his mother's own imagination.
"Anyway, do you believe me now?" Leo changed the topic and asked.
Anne shook her head. "Not yet. I'll be keeping an eye on you for a while."
Leo nodded. "That's understandable. When the opportunity is right, I'll tell you everything in detail as to what caused me to be like this. Anywho… for now… can you tell me exactly how much time is left for the Awakening Ceremony?"